Twinkle Twinkle Boats

More lights - this time on floating canvasses. Over $20,500 in prizes were up for grabs - not too shabby. There were probably about a dozen boats that took part in this parade on the water, but I think the small ones deserve a bigger medal than the large ones (or more $). They were all supposed to go out of the marina and around to where Mallory Park/Sunset Pier are located, but most didn't (so I'm glad we weren't standing there). The little guys did though, and we could see them bouncing around in the surprisingly choppy waters. As you can gather in the photos below, there were all kinds of configurations, including a couple of boats outlined as trains (one of them the Key West Express ferry we took Thanksgiving weekend); one even put out steam.




I loved how some of them even decorated the dinghies dragging behind them. The boat below was the only one to actually put the lights on their sails (as opposed to the metal wires that hold the sails up) and they got walloped by not only wavy seas, but pretty good wind gusts. But they sailed back and forth anyway and I applaud them for it.

I don't know if you can see, but this was an octopus. Some poor person had to manually operate the tentacles like a puppeteer as they went to and fro.

Even a kayak was in the mix. Needless to say, they only made one pass. I liked the Christmas tree on the back.

This motorboat we didn't see at all until we walked back to the marina. Not only could you not miss the bright lights, but it was jamming pretty good with the tunes too. Gangnam Style!



We enjoyed ourselves as we stood on the end of a pier clapping and wahooing; plus we met a nice couple that had traveled a lot and were fun to talk to (hi to Maria & Jim!).

Santacon was going on too - where people dress up as Santa, Mrs. Santa, reindeer, elves, etc. and pub crawl down Duval St. I figured my pics would come out blurry (and had to run early) so didn't bother to track them down, but they have posted a few (blurry) pics on their Facebook page.

We are slowly accumulating photos of lights on houses next. Not as many people as we would have thought have decorated. I think being in a place full of so many renters lends itself to less people bothering. Oddly, none of the major sites, like the Hemingway House or Little Truman White House were lit either. There are a number of folks who have gotten into the spirit and have gone all out, so we'll capture them and I'll have those for you mid-week.

You can also get excited about the upcoming 4th Annual Key West Holiday Lighted Bike Parade on Wednesday, December 19, 2012. It's at the gazebo in Bayview Park at 6pm. They're also collecting unwrapped toys for a toy drive event at the Key West Aquarium benefiting Samuels House and the Florida Keys Outreach Coalition.